So what went wrong for Dave?

[theyoungvisiter]

I felt like he got handed this election on a plate. How did it end up like this?

And what do you think the result means for his future?

The only reason it wasn't a landslide was because there are still people like ItsGrimUpNorth who didn't even give their policies a chance because they are in her words "regressive, over-privileged berks*

If more of the electorate had put aside their prejudices and really taken a look at the policies of each of the parties especially with regard to the pressing issues of the day (national debt & the economy, national security, care for the vulnerable, education), then I think more people would've voted for the conservatives under DC leadership

Um, anything substantial in so far as Tory policy goes was very thin on the ground. And Cameron was impossible to pin down when it came to stating where he would make cuts or how he would pay for extra credits. While I am a dyed-in-the-wool Labour voter, I do think the current taxation policy of the government is a shambles and the proposed NI hike ludicrous at a time when we need employers to create jobs more than ever. Out of curiosity, I looked into the Tory taxation policy, and bar scrapping the NI raise, it did not seem much different from Labour policy. I think it's also worth bearing in mind that had they been in power 5 years ago they would have de-regulated the free market to such an extent that they would have precipitated the banking collapse far sooner and with bigger bonuses.

Cameron's voting record is appalling; make no mistake - no matter how unhappy one might be with the continued Middle Eastern misadventure and the devastation the West is leaving in its wake - the Tories were far, far more gung ho about the Iraq invasion and even more anti an inquiry than those toeing the Labour party line. And why they make noises about top-up fees is beyond me when they voted for them and have no plans to do anything other than make it even more costly to go on to higher education.

Not to mention the fact that he looks like he has been at the Botox. Now that I find very unnerving.

Slightly overwrought and badly written, yet insightful analysis from The Guardian

Boris Johnson said Cameron should perhaps have spelled out the message more clearly in areas like TOoting where they'd hoped to gain C2 voters: if you're low-earning and hard-working we want to help you and we want you to keep more of your own money.

My own opinion is that Lab and Con policies are very middle of the road now and appeal to larger numbers of very similar people. GB has walked away from the grassroots of Socialism and DC has walked away from old style Conservatism. In doing this DC alienated some grassroots Tories whi have not been complimentary. My FIL and his friends (all dyed in the wool Tories) moan about him all the time and vote UKIP or LibDem.

Plus - I have not heard much from any of the shadow cabinet - it's like they were told "I'll do the talking" by DC. Maybe people were unbsure about it being too much of a one man band.

Oh and GO as chancellor scares the pants of me.

Did it go wrong for Dave?

They will be able to push through unpopular stuff, preside over all kinds of nasty things like a housing crash/devaluing the pound as a coalition.
Before the election, it was fairly widely said that whoever won this election would be out of power for a generation, because they'd be so unpopular as a result of what they'd have to do.

A related question is why does everyone hate the Tories so much?
I think this has been pretty well answered, but to add my 2ds worth:
They have got the party out of balance. They are a very strong, well organised clique, with defining characteristics - and thats their downfall. They have eliminated the competition too successfully, and got rid of people who they see as wrong or a threat, who would have appealed to different voters.
They are just too introverted, and dont have enough real empathy with voters. None of them have the combination of coming from non-privileged backgrounds and good experience outside the magical world of politics and the media.

THat's what my father says, too. He thinks David Davis might have been a better choice. Personally I have a fondness for Kenneth Clarke, who seems to be able to be tough but also gets on well with people of other political complexions.

And I think Eric Pickles has the bloke-ish thing, too. He reminds me of a grocer from a period drama.

I think DC was daft not to wheel Kenneth Clarke out more during the campaign - he's the closest thing they have to a Lib Dem - moderate, pro-Europe, liberal but experienced. Would probably appeal to older Tory voters but not scare potential first time Tories in the way David Davis might.

One of the few still left who has actually experienced government, and who has thoroughly sensible, moderate politics. I've had this pointless fantasy that Ken C would swap sides and in a blaze of glory lead the Labour Party. He loves jazz. He smokes cigars. He likes a pint. He's like your friend's cool Dad.

Eric Pickles is voice of the dog in the adverts for Churchill Insurance.

Thats what I meant in my earlier post, LadyRabbit. The pro-Europeans have been airbrushed out, because the clique doesn't agree with them.
If the conservative party was more balanced, and if the Cameroonies had allowed a few of their internal opposition some more say, they would probably have had their majority now. People arent as stupid as they seem to think.

'people aren't as stupid as they seem to think'

Seconded, nighbynight . I was only thinking this as DH and I were discussing what will happen next, and how badly everyone in the media and to a certain extent, Westminster, misread the situation. It gave me hope that the public at large aren't actually interested in X-Factor politics and that they will actually think/vote for themselves.

'People arent as stupid as they seem to think.'

And, they take great exception to being considered so stupid important issues are above their radar.

Those debates were a waste of space. I'm surprised we weren't asked to vote for the leader we wanted by texting there and then.

I think many of the electorate did not know what he stood for. You couldn't put a fag paper between the Tories and Labour. I think the love-in between Cameron (and leg-over for power) Clegg will end in tears, not just for them but for the electorate who voted for them.

You've gotta say though, if DC couldn't give Labour a spanking tis time, then I doubt he'll ever manage it.

I blame the Botox.

yes, a PM who was even suspected of using Botox is unthinkable in Britain. lol are you going native, expat?

Because Cameron and Osborne made the wrong call on the economic crisis again and again and again, and opposed all the measures that dragged us out of the recession -- and were promoting policies in their manifesto that the IMF and OECD said would push us into a double-dip. As the election came nearer, people got more nervous about voting them in.

The fact that they gained the seats they did is in large part due to people's visceral personal loathing of Gordon Brown.

'people aren't as stupid as they seem to think'

Yes, Cameron was beginning to annoy me (yes, me!) during the debates (especially the final one) with the way he REALLY over simplified his points.

I blame Osborne. That Old Etonian sneer.... maybe it's botoxed onto his face.

Osborne is part of the problem. However, pastyclayface is a symptom. The real problem is that he's there in the first place ...

Talking up opportunities for the poor is a good thing and very un-tory in the grander scheme of things. However, reserving the prime spots in government for the massively over-priveleged makes me suspicious that it's just lip service.

That and revelatory statments like "for me, it's never about the money, it's about the message". He used it about the married tax credit but I heard "big society". Applied here, it suggests that people should be satisfied with a statement that it'd be nice for society to look after the poor and weak, but the government's going to do nothing to help them. It fed into my worst fears about the man.

Really, I'd like to trust him - and I'm sure he's actually not a bastard - but I don't think he's got the first clue about what normal people are like.

The common people 2010 kind of sums up what went wrong for Dave.